Short Interest in Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) Rises By 8.4%

Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,700,000 shares, an increase of 8.4% from the September 30th total of 8,950,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 11.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FL. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Foot Locker in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Foot Locker from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Foot Locker in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Foot Locker from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Foot Locker from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $24.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Foot Locker

In other news, major shareholder Vesa Equity Investment S.A R.L sold 539,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.22, for a total transaction of $17,911,559.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,393,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $345,275,126.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 787,566 shares of company stock valued at $26,090,866. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Foot Locker

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FL. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in shares of Foot Locker by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 14,235 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Foot Locker by 1.2% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,541 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Foot Locker by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,808 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Foot Locker by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 27,671 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Foot Locker by 116.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,365 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period.

Foot Locker Trading Down 0.6 %

Foot Locker stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,653,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,252,085. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.28 and its 200 day moving average is $25.53. Foot Locker has a 1-year low of $19.44 and a 1-year high of $35.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The athletic footwear retailer reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.03. Foot Locker had a negative net margin of 4.48% and a positive return on equity of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Foot Locker will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Foot Locker Company Profile

Foot Locker, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a footwear and apparel retailer in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Its brand portfolio includes Foot Locker, a brand comprising sneakers and apparel; Kids Foot Locker, which offers athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for children; and Champs Sports that operates as a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailer.